Kiwi technology puts 3D images into Acrobat files

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Hundreds of millions of people around the world will soon be
using Kiwi technology to add an extra dimension to documents on
their computers.

US software giant Adobe has licensed technology created by New
Zealand-owned firm Right Hemisphere that lets people view PDF files
containing images that can be manipulated in 3D.

Right Hemisphere's Deep View technology is being shipped as
standard in the latest version of Adobe's free Acrobat Reader
software, Version 7, which was released this month.

More than 500 million copies of earlier versions of Acrobat have
been shipped worldwide to date.

Right Hemisphere founder and president Mark Thomas won't comment
on the value of the deal and would say only that the company was
"very comfortable with the deal".

The software it created for Adobe lets computer users view any
3D images conforming to the emerging U3D format from different
angles, including - but not exclusively - images generated using
Right Hemisphere's Deep Exploration package.

The latter is designed to takes 3D images from more than 120
computer-aided design software packages and translate them into a
variety of standard formats including U3D.

The U3D standard is backed by Adobe, Intel, Hewlett-Packard and
Boeing. Right Hemisphere also had a hand in its development.

Deep Exploration is already used by the likes of Boeing, Ford,
Pratt and Whitney and NASA to take 3D images from CAD software so
they can be viewed in Microsoft files and its uptake is likely to
be boosted by the deal with Adobe.

Thomas says the deal is the most important development for Right
Hemisphere since it secured venture capital from high-profile US
venture capital firm Sequoia Capital in 2003. Sequoia typically
invests in companies it believes will grow to value more than $US1
billion.

"What this does is put 3D on a par with text and video for the
general public. There is now a huge opportunity to use 3D as a
standard format for communications."

Thomas envisages manufacturers will incorporate 3D images in
electronic sales and marketing brochures and in electronic manuals
published in PDF format.

"Analysts are talking about a tectonic shift in the market
dynamics of document delivery. Suddenly, you've got Adobe playing
in the document space."

Right Hemisphere is now headquartered in California but remains
majority owned by New Zealanders.

It employs 35 of its 60 staff in Auckland with another 20 staff
in California - where chief executive Michael Lynch is based - and
a handful working out of Russia, Hungary and France.

In June, Right Hemisphere made it on to a list of America's 200
most innovative private firms, drawn up by US organisation
Always-On.

Thomas says Right Hemisphere expects to double its worldwide
headcount to 120 within 12-18 months and is likely to list in the
US, though probably not this year.

Though sales and marketing functions are likely to gravitate to
the US, it makes good business sense to keep developing software in
New Zealand while there is a steady flow of talent from
universities and immigration, he says. "We are also always keen to
work with other New Zealand companies to leverage what we are
doing, with joint content creation and research and
development."